I miss hiking so much.  I only made three summits last summer, which is unusual for me.  The one that I loved best was the one that I did with my family, but another one that I had blogged about here recently was another favorite for sure (Pretty Hike and Summit).  The reason that I list the one that I took with my son and partner as the top is because it was their first summit ever (7/2/14).  There is something magical about both imparting your knowledge and being privy to a new experience for others that leaves one feeling full.  That is what a hike, and especially summiting a mountain, is for me.  It gives me a complete sense of fulness that leaves me feeling as if I don’t have a problem in the world.

I had read a book last Thursday through Saturday morning about a three-month long backpacking trip, and it got me both nostalgic and hungry for hiking.  Here is a quote from Wild by Strayed (2012) that reminds me of those sentiments: “There were so many other amazing things in this world. They opened up inside of me like a river. Like I didn’t know I could take a breath and then I breathed. I laughed with the joy of it, and the next moment I was crying my first tears on the PCT.”

Summits are amazing, and I have set some goals for next year, which includes, not least of which, making more summits next summer.  There is something about hiking that speaks to my whole soul.  The trips can bring you to tears, and they can give you a fresh perspective that your soul craves.  I’m interested in camping and backpacking too.  That’s one of my goals for next summer because I don’t have clinical hours, but instead have some time off.

Here is another line from Wild that I particularly liked.

“I’d seen a lot of breathtaking sunsets in my evenings on the PCT, but this one was more spectacular than any in a low, pink, orange, and purple over the waves of green land.  I cried and I cried and I cried. I wasn’t crying because I was happy. I wasn’t crying because I was sad. I wasn’t crying because of my mother and father or Paul. I was crying because I was full.” (Strayed, 2012 p. 233-4)

I’m ready to be fueled by nature again.  I’m ready to be able to take in a mountain top.  I’m just ready to explore and feel small and humbled.

My hiking partner reaching 14,197 way before me on July 20, 2014